C.S. Lewis by almost any definition was one of the great thinkers and writers of his time. I've read a lot of his books and to me he has a way of bending your mind around the paradoxes we face throughout our lives. For example - he authored an essay titled, The Inner Ring, describing the desire and at times corrosive effects of wanting to be part of the in crowd. At first glance, you may think that the essay is for middle school students trying to decide which lunch table they want to sit at, but C.S. Lewis pulls no punches describing how we are plagued with this desire throughout our lives. He offers challenging thoughts such as, 'As long as you fear being an outsider, you will remain an outsider.'
My point today is not to shame that desire that we all have, but to point out a side effect that happens to us once we are on the inside of a group - blindness. No matter how healthy our desire to be on the inside or how pure the path was to being an insider, once you are on the inside you are at risk to become blind. Jeff Henderson, thought leader & lead church planter for Andy Stanley ministries, unpacks this blindness through his term, 'insider-itis.' *itis as a suffix implies the inflammation or irritation of something. For example, tendonitis is the inflammation of tendons. Consider yourself one step closing to being a medical doctor now. Henderson, makes intriguing correlations between a loss of focus on our purpose and ‘insider-itis’ To be clear, insider-itis is a false sense that we know what our community is experiencing because we work there. It is the uncoupling of working at a place (producer logic) and knowing how our community is experiencing our place (consumer logic).
So how do you counteract insider-itis? Can you cure this blindness? As a leader, you have to find ways to keep insider-itis from crippling the effectiveness of your team's efforts. Here are 4 suggestions…
FIRST IMPRESSIONS. My wife and I recently tried a new diner. As we walked up to the front door, there was a half-consumed jar of baby food sitting on the window sill of the store front. Subconsciously, I began looking for other indications that the establishment was not well kept. My mindset was cynical for the rest of the experience. Insider-itis was taking hold at this diner. In any organization, there are things about the facility that you would love to control, yet you don’t. Do not let that distract you from the things people see that you do control. Controlling the visual representation of your organization (facility, personal appearance) in every way you can is a key part to staying focused on the main thing. We all become blind to the broken water fountain, the out of date picture, or the weed that's been growing in the crack in the parking lot for three weeks. Whether that is a well-designed graphic or simply picking up a piece of trash as you walk across your parking lot, never let insider-itis blind you from what people are seeing about your team and organization. Taking control of first impressions is a great way to cure insider-itis.
CELEBRATIONS. A familiar coaching method is to ‘reward what you want repeated’ and celebration is a form of reward. I have found planning for what will be celebrated and executing that plan comes with a large return on investment. Things like social media strategies, birthday calendars, or monthly email celebrations of achieving team members are easy to construct and can move the needle of awareness away from insider-itis. There’s a ‘tongue in cheek’ leadership idea that you speak things into existence. I would argue it is more true than most folks want to admit and leaders can indeed speak things into existence. But, they have to be intentional about how they will celebrate. Are you intentional about celebrating things you want and need to be repeated in your organization? Celebrating happenings that are core to who your organization is a great way cure insider-itis.
LOCATIONS. I am currently writing this from the upper deck of a vacation home at Lake Travis, Texas. I can see most of the lake and most of the community that surrounds it. It’s beautiful. On the lake, I can see where boats are, where they are headed, and where they are in relation to other boats. If I were down on the shore, I wouldn’t not be able to see those things but I would be able to see how individual people were enjoying the lake. Flying kites, floating in the water, paddle boarding, and many other activities would be observable. In both scenarios I am looking at the same spot, but the location I’m looking from gives me new insights. The application of this analogy to life at your organization can give you ‘ah-ha’ moments big and small. I believe in the power of routine, but I believe part of your routine should be holding meetings, eating lunches, and walking hallways with as much variety as you can. Being creative with locations is a great way to cure insider-itis.
QUESTIONS. It is increasingly important in the Information Age that leaders be great question-askers. Great questions can guide conversations to the truth about a matter. One of those questions that should asked early and often is, ‘How will this (insert topic or action item) help our people experience our mission.’ The mere asking of the question acts as a compass to keep insiders focused on what the community should actually be experiencing. Great questions are a great way to cure insider-itis.
Bonus content: Here are some resources to help you dig deeper on this topic - ‘Know What You’re For’ by Jeff Henderson, ‘Loonshots’ by Safi Bahcall, ‘Be Our Guest’ by Theodore Kinni
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on relentlessly leading yourself and others well. Read about it more here.
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader with more than two decades of experience. He’s earned a few degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school sweetheart and they have three teen age children. Life is messy and complicated most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter for all sorts of inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
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